417 CANNON Hou 4 if u_ 25TH DC 20515 Y, (202) 225-2778 r; (202) 226-0346 COMMITTEE ON 2 FOREIGN AFFAIRS DISTRICT 12851 sw 42ND COMMITTEE ON 121 3 Qllungress uf the dlmteh ?tates ilauuse uf Representatihes L1 WA SUITE 1 M: 20515-0025 FAX: (239) 348~3569 Jafluafy 19, QQ/rivera.house.gov Ms. Kaleena Mercado Salgueiro Dear Friend, Thank you for contacting me to express your views on H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act of 201 1. I appreciate hearing from you. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking ir1 copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. SOPA would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek injunctions against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. The actions could include excluding online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as PayPal Hom doing business with the infringing website, excluding search engines Hom linking to such sites, and requiring Intemet service providers to obstruct access to the offending sites. H.R. 3261 was introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas and referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. While I believe that intellectual property rights should be respected, I oppose H.R. 3261 because it lacks sufficient protections to keep the internet an open forum for the free exchange of ideas. The internet has revolutionized the way the world learns, interacts, and does business. It has made it easier for people to communicate with each other and it has allowed people living under oppressive regimes to bypass government propaganda and collect and spread information. Rest assured that I'll continue to work with my colleagues to ensure copyrights are protected while not inhinging on Hee speech. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel Bee to contact me whenever there is an issue you wish to bring to my attention. Your views are important to me and always welcome. Sincerely, 2Q:f% David Rivera Member of Congress DR/cf ED ER